Re: Who invented the stapler and when?

Well,

I'll take a crack at this question. This is not a definitive answer, but it will have to do for now.

Searching the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for "stapler," I found several of Swingline's patents on the design of a stapler. These patents reference previously filed patents, which are too old to be accessed over the WWW. I think that the oldest of the referenced patents might be the inventor of the stapler. IF those assumptions are true, then the inventor of the stapler is:

Maynard, patent #D118,379; Jan., 1940

I would definitely try to verify this information, but I hope it gives you a place to start your search.

Dave